There is a new theoretical approach to international migration and development in Mexico. Beyond the vision of the international organisms, it analyzes the role assigned to migration and remittances within Mexico's precarious socioeconomic stability, according to what is called a remittance-based development model. For the sake of a comprehensive analysis, three dimensions are reviewed: a) the export of cheap labor; b) the role of labor migration in US productive reconstruction, and c) the function assigned to remittances in the Mexican economy. The central argument is that development based upon remittances intensifies the dependence on them, yet is not linked to mechanisms that promote local, regional or national development.